Zimbabwe’s slow progress in implementing its long-awaited mining cadastre system is undermining national efforts to modernise the sector, curb corruption, and align with global responsible mining standards, a leading mineral economist has warned.
By Ryan Chigoche
Zimbabwe is widely recognised for its abundant deposits of critical minerals such as lithium, gold, platinum group metals, chrome, and rare earth elements. These resources place the country in a strategic position to benefit from the surging global demand driven by the transition to green energy technologies, electric vehicles, and advanced electronics. As countries around the world intensify efforts to secure sustainable and ethically sourced mineral supplies, Zimbabwe has a unique opportunity to become a major player in the global critical minerals market.
However, to fully capitalise on these resources, Zimbabwe must overcome longstanding challenges related to governance, title security, and sector transparency. The mining industry’s growth and the government’s ambitions for beneficiation and value addition hinge on clear, reliable, and accessible information about mining claims and licenses. Without this, investors face significant risks of overlapping claims, protracted disputes, and regulatory uncertainty—factors that have historically hampered investment and stalled projects.
Mineral Economist Layman Mlambo says improving title management is essential to reforming the sector, which remains mired in disputes, overlaps, and governance weaknesses.
“Effective mining title management is key in this, because it ensures security of titles, which has been a problem due to overlapping or coincident mining sites, resulting in many court cases and loss of money and time,” Mlambo said. “A computerised cadastre initiative, or even a better technology product, needs to be implemented to ensure these information gaps and inconsistencies are eliminated. That effectively eliminates corruption and rent-seeking behaviours.”
Although Zimbabwe has not yet rolled out its mining cadastre system, it has been repeatedly identified by policymakers and industry stakeholders as a critical tool for reform. Designed as an e-Government platform, the system is expected to modernise the management of mining titles by improving transparency, reducing disputes, and streamlining stakeholder engagement.
However, delays have raised red flags. Initially scheduled for a 2024 launch, the system has been postponed to early 2025, with Manicaland Province earmarked as the pilot region. Authorities cite incomplete data verification and limited ICT infrastructure as causes for the delay, despite a US$5.5 million government investment in the system back in 2022.
Once operational, the cadastre will provide accurate, real-time information on mining claims and licenses. Its dual functionality—supporting both manual and electronic entries—is expected to curb corruption, limit discretionary decision-making, and support evidence-based oversight of the sector.
Crucially, the system is seen as the foundation for aligning Zimbabwe with international responsible mining standards such as the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) and the OECD Due Diligence Guidelines. IRMA, in particular, promotes stakeholder engagement, traceability, and sustainability across the entire mining lifecycle.
“We talk a lot about international standards, but very little has been done to actually implement or domesticate them,” Mlambo noted.
“This is a missed opportunity for Zimbabwe to position itself as a supplier of ethically sourced minerals in global value chains.”
As demand for critical minerals like lithium and rare earth elements accelerates globally, Zimbabwe has an opportunity to attract responsible investment and extract greater long-term value through beneficiation and sustainable practices. But without a functioning cadastre, these ambitions risk remaining theoretical.
Beyond regulatory compliance, the cadastre system is also vital to tracking environmental safeguards, ensuring community participation, and facilitating the monitoring of ESG metrics. Without it, governance remains fragmented and opaque—conditions that deter serious investors.
Mlambo and other analysts argue that modernizing mining governance is not just a bureaucratic exercise, but a strategic imperative for Zimbabwe to capitalize on the green energy transition.
“As global demand for responsibly sourced minerals continues to rise, Zimbabwe’s ability to reform its governance structures and embrace transparency could prove decisive in its quest for sustainable economic transformation,” Mlambo said.
For Zimbabwe to deliver on its aspirations for beneficiation, value addition, and inclusive growth, experts agree that prioritising the cadastre rollout must move from policy talk to implementation.
